Thursday, April 11, 2013

Light as a feather, and with just about as much on its mind, Sophie Lellouche's new romantic comedy from France places the usual made-for-each-other protagonists in each other's path but makes sure neither of them can know or admit to this until just before the rolling of the final credits. The movie's "big difference" (and what might connect it to American audiences a bit more firmly than many French comedies) is that it's third "star" is Woody Allen, whom our female protag, a Parisian pharmacist, idolizes and fetishizes to the point where she knows his films by heart and recommends them to anyone with a problem, mental or physical, in order for healing to take place. Wow: some paean to Mr. Allen!

This may sound pretty awful on paper (or blog) but I have to say that it all goes down much easier than expected, due to the very good performances from the entire cast and to the quirky manner in which Lellouche, shown at right, defines her hero, heroine, and the latter's odd family. PARIS-MANHATTAN -- the film takes place in the former but it's Allen's Manhattan (the movie and its vision/view of our city) that rules -- offers up a slight but quite charming 77 minutes worth of Allen-isms (his voice emanating from a poster of his younger self that adorns the heroine's wall) and French romantic and family situations pretty much guaranteed to put a smile on the face of Francophiles and Allen-lovers.

It may be a bit of a spoiler to go any further with what happens and who shows up, but it all comes out as sunny and bright as a perfect stroll through the Tuileries on a gorgeous day with the temperature around 75 degrees. Are you surprised? No. But if you're one of those with a soft spot for rom-coms in the French style, you'll exit with a grin on your face. (I do, however, wish that Ms Lellouche could have ended her film just a few moments earlier, without undue lingering. She holds that final shot far too long.

Due, I am guessing, to the film's rather short running time, on the program with Paris-Manhattan is also a short about an odd but interesting Allen connection entitled Woody Before Allen. So, for Allen fans happy to settle for a couple of movies with and about the guy (without actually being by the guy), here's your cup of java.

Finally, for fans of either Allen or this film who want to learn more about the filmmaker, here's a nice interview with Ms Lellouche first published at FemaleFirst. Paris-Manhattan opens tomorrow, Friday, April 12, in Manhattan at the Quad Cinema. The exclusive Los Angeles engagement begins Friday, May 3rd at Laemmle's Music Hall3 in Beverly Hills, the Playhouse 7in Pasadena and the Town Center 5 in Encino. Elsewhere around the country? Let's hope. Otherwise wait for it on DVD and/or streaming.

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Movie criticism (mostly foreign films, documentaries and independents: big Hollywood product hardly needs more marketing), very occasional interviews and ideas from James van Maanen, who began his late-career movie reviewing for GreenCine, then took the big blog step around a decade ago. He covers new movies, video releases, and occasional streaming choices. You can reach him at JamesvanMaanen@gmail.com